The Captain, the TeaBoy and the Wolf?
by BloodWolfQueen
Summary: Goes through the whole series with my OC, but also centers around Ianto and Jack. Definite Janto in later parts, and some light (past) Jack/OC and Ianto/OC. Rating for later content.
1. What is that

AN: This is my first fanfiction that I'm publishing here. The beginning is a bit slow, but it will get better!

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or it's characters. Only the wolf is mine :)

The hub was surprisingly loud for a day with so little rift activity. Tosh was working on her computer programs, the _click-clack_ of her keyboard the only sound coming from her workstation. Owen was playing some video game, avoiding reports for the past three aliens he had dissected. Gwen still wasn't sure what to make of this new workspace. She had tried reading some background information on Torchwood and had quickly gotten bored with that, so she decided to follow Owen's example, though she did some online window shopping instead of video games.

Jack appeared to be working in his office. Appeared was the keyword here. He was looking at some reports that he needed to sign, but wasn't absorbing any of the details. He was bored out of his mind. And he was hungry. Just as he thought he might die of starvation, the alarms at the cog wheel door blared to life, announcing the arrival of Ianto. With food. He headed up to the conference room, the whole team following him like a pack of hungry dogs. He quietly slipped out of the room after setting the food down, coming back a few minutes later with that magic coffee only he was able to make. He gave everyone their personal favorite drink before sitting down to eat his own Chinese food.

Halfway through their lunch break, the rift activity monitor blared to life, causing everyone to jump in their seats and Owen to curse as he dropped some rice into his lap. Tosh raced down to her workstation, Jack not far behind her.

"That is one hell of an activity spike," Jack murmured.

"Jack, we haven't seen a rift spike like this in ages. I think we should all go out on this."

"You're right Toshiko. Something big must have come through with a spike that size. Gwen! Owen! Get your guns and head to the SUV!" Jack ran to his office as he shouted instructions, taking his coat as Ianto handed it to him. "Ianto, stay here. Have a cell ready, and the autopsy bay just in case."

"Yes, sir."

Jack ran out to the SUV, jumped into the driver's seat and tore out of the garage like a bat out of Hell. With Jack's driving it took less than 15 minutes to get to the site, just outside the city. The team piled out of the vehicle, senses on high alert and guns at the ready. They followed Ianto's directions from the hub, soon coming upon an area of burned grass with a body roughly in the middle of it. They all approached cautiously. The creature didn't appear to be moving, but they didn't want to take any chances.

"Is that a wolf?" Gwen asked, staring incredulously at the huge canine in front of them.

"That looks way to large to be any Earth wolf," remarked Owen as he crept forward to get a closer look. Only Tosh noticed that Jack had stopped dead, staring at the creature, eyes wide but vacant.

"Jack, are you ok?" Tosh questioned. She got no reply. "Jack!" His head snapped towards her and he seemed to come back to the present.

"I think I know this species. They're both wolf and human, capable of switching between forms at will. It's not exactly alien, the species originates on Earth. They're from the future."

"How do you know so much?" Gwen stared at him, eyes wide.

"I dated one once. She was stranded here, out of her time. I tried to help her acclimate. She disappeared one night. No note, no goodbye of any sort."

Owen frowned as he examined the creature on the ground. "We need to get this thing to the hub stat. I can see some major external damage, I need to do a full examination to rule out any internal damage as well."

"You go prepare the SUV for her, I'll carry her."

"Watch her broken front leg Jack. And don't jostle her too much, her ribs are probably broken."

"Gwen, get the SUV started. Toshiko, search for any information we have about any shape-shifting species."

The drive back felt like an eternity, with Gwen driving much slower than Jack would and the wolf breathing shallowly on Jack's lap while Owen poked and prodded it a bit.

Gwen dropped Owen, Jack, and the wolf off at the invisible lift before going to park the SUV. As Jack caught sight of Ianto waiting at the bottom of the lift, he realized they had all forgotten about him while they were in the field.

"Anything I can do, sir?"

"Get some towels and hot water down to the autopsy bay and pull out some local anesthetics. I don't want to risk sedating her," Owen answered, walking briskly towards his domain to wash up and don his lab coat.

Jack carried the wolf down to the table. Ianto had placed a large towel on top of the metal surface of the table, which Jack settled her onto as gently as he could.

"Owen, her breathing is getting worse."

"Shit. Out of the way Jack." Owen took his stethoscope to her chest and listened to her heart and lungs. "She's got fluid in her lungs. I'm gonna have to open her up. If she has fluid in her lungs she could have internal bleeding too. Where's Tosh? Did she ever get any information?"

"There is almost no information on shape-shifting species in the database. There might be some in the paper records though. The only information I did come up with is about a reptile species, but they're not really shape-shifters, they're more like human reptile crosses."

"So I have nothing to go on. Great."

"I can look up something on wolf anatomy. It might not be perfect, but it'll be better than nothing."

"Good idea Toshiko. Ianto, go down to the archives and see if you can dig anything up. Gwen, go get some coffee while Ianto is down in the archives. I'm going to help Owen." They ball split and went about their respective tasks.

Owen realized he had some serious work ahead as soon as he opened her up. One of her lungs was punctured and blood was seeping into it from internal wounds. He was glad to see that her heart was just fine and there was no acid coming out of her stomach. He had hours of surgery ahead.

"Hope you're ready for a long night Jack. Got anything for me Tosh?"

"Just a basic layout of internal organs."

"Put it up on screen. Don't want anything in the wrong place."

Ianto surfaced from the archives three hours later, covered in dust, carrying only a small file. There was no one in the main area of the hub, but he heard some small curses and murmured instructions coming from the autopsy bay. He followed the sound and found Tosh and Jack standing around the table, occasionally handing Owen small medical instruments, or—in Tosh' case—mumbling small corrections apparently about where organs belonged or which blood vessels should be avoided. Ianto stood at the top of the observation deck, not wanting to startle any of them, or get any dust into the sterilized area.

Jack turned around quickly, feeling someone's eyes on him. He relaxed when he saw Ianto standing there, file in hand.

"Find anything useful?" He asked hopefully.

"Not really. Just a small file with basic descriptions of half a dozen shape-shifters. They're very old descriptions, and they all seem very negative, sir." Jack frowned.

"You can go home then, Ianto. I already sent Gwen off. No reason to make you sit around waiting. I'll call you if we need anything."

"Of course, sir." He turned and walked out, leaving silently if not for sounds of the door.

"We've still got at least three more hours. It's like someone was interrupted in the middle of trying to beat her to death."

"Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know Toshiko. Maybe we'll get some answers when she wakes up."

"If she wakes up." Jack and Tosh both glared at Owen. No one wanted to hear his pessimism. "Don't give me those looks. I'm being realistic. With this extent of bodily injury and a major concussion like the scanner picked up, she might die or fall into a coma. We all need to be prepared for the worst." Both of his teammates agreed grudgingly, and continued to help their doctor fix up the poor creature in front of them.

TWTWTWTWTWTW

At home, Ianto showered and got dressed into fresh suit before grabbing a quick dinner and heading back to the hub, using the forgotten back entrance that he had used in his first few weeks. He slipped through the underground levels, finally reaching his destination. He quietly opened and closed the door, trying to not wake the woman inside.

"Ianto?" She called out, body constricted by the metal casing and wires attached to the table she lay on top of.

"Yes my love. Did I wake you? How's the pain?" He started fussing over the machine, checking medicine doses and electrical connections.

"I was already awake. The pain is...bearable."

"Soon Lisa. The doctor will be here in a few weeks, and he'll be able to heal you." He put another dose of painkillers/sedatives into her IV and talked with her about work until she drifted off. He slipped back out, not daring to stay that night with so many people in the hub, even if they were distracted. He headed back to the small apartment that wasn't really home, but it at least contained a bed. He took a heavy dose of sleeping pills and let himself slip into unconsciousness.


	2. Hello you

Owen stood at the sink, rinsing blood off of his hands. He had just finished stitching up the wolf and had left Jack to put some plasters over them so she wouldn't rip them out. He splashed his face with water once his hands were sufficiently clean, then headed back down to the autopsy bay to check on his patient.

Jack was scrubbing blood out of the parts of her fur that hadn't been shaved off while Tosh was staring at something around her neck.

"This collar is fascinating. I didn't notice it until Jack spilled water on it, like it had some kind of camouflage that was short-circuited. It seems to be biologically bound to her and based on the blood samples from earlier, it is releasing a low dose of an unknown substance into her bloodstream constantly."

"Great. Can you break it down into individual bits so I might be able to create an antidote if it's killing her?" Owen was tired, but he was a doctor and was going to save his patient, alien or not.

"Already working on it. It might take a while though."

"Can you leave the computers to it?" Jack asked, concerned at how long these two had been working.

"Yes, easily."

"Okay. You two go home, get some sleep. Come back in a few hours."

Tosh made no argument, she simply set her computer program on automatic and started packing up to leave.

"While I would usually be bolting out of here, the fact of the matter is that I can't leave her side. She could go critical or have a seizure or who knows what alien disease she might have that could kick in anytime. I'll just nap on the couch until everyone gets in."

Even though he wanted to make him go home, Jack knew that Owen was right. He nodded and headed up to his office to get a more thorough look at the file Ianto had brought up earlier.

The cog wheel door rolled open only a few hours later to reveal Ianto, dressed in a perfectly pressed suit as always. Jack looked at the clock to find that it was already eight in the morning. He didn't realize how long the surgery had taken.

Ianto headed straight to the kitchenette to make coffee. As usual, he had it ready by the time Gwen and Tosh came in. He made an extra strength one for Owen after seeing him asleep on the couch. Nobody wanted to deal with Owen in a worse mood than usual. Coffee usually kept him relatively calm.

Tosh knocked gently on the door frame of the office door and entered when Jack waved her inside. "Jack, I was thinking that I should take a closer look at that collar today. It's electronic of some sort. I'm sure I can find a way to get it off of her."

"Good idea. Have any of the compounds been identified yet?"

"Just a mild sedative. It's nothing that should keep her under like this though. It's just meant to keep her calm. I've still got the computer running so it can search while I examine the collar."

"Get to it then," Jack beamed at her. She smiled and gave a sharp nod, then scampered off to do what she did best; figure out what technology does and how to use it.

Owen was awake by the time Tosh headed down to the autopsy bay, though he was still half asleep on the couch, holding onto his coffee for dear life.

"Don't jostle her!" He shouted after Tosh, though it came out whinier than usual with his sleep-filled voice. Tosh didn't respond, opting to start scanning the device before even trying to touch it. She quickly went to get her laptop and hacked into the frequency of the collar.

"Jack!" She called after only a few minutes of typing. Jack strode out of his office and made his way down to stand by her.

"What have you got?"

"There's a small information cache on this thing. Very small. It just says _sine grex_ and Daria. Do you- Jack? Jack?" The Captain had gone white, jaw slack. The distress in Tosh's voice brought everyone else over to look at the wolf.

"Daria." It was barely a breath, but everyone heard it.

"What does it mean Jack?" Gwen asked from above on the observation deck.

"The first part is a classification. And it's not a very nice one. It means declares her pack-less, a lone wolf. In her species, that is among the highest of insults."

"And the second part?"

"It's her name. Owen, where is that razor you were using to shave the fur from her wounds?"

"I'll get them," he mumbled, not wanting anyone to rummage in his stuff. He handed it to Jack a few seconds later. Jack promptly began to shave a spot of fur away, on the back of the skull, just below her left ear. A dark tattoo began to appear, a string of numbers and letters. Jack held himself together as he turned the razor off and gently set it down on a try. He quickly left the room and everyone heard the resounding thud of his office door being slammed shut.

"What the hell was that about?" Owen questioned no one in particular.

Ianto quietly slipped away and went to Jack's office, knocking gently and not waiting for a reply before entering. "Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" Silence met him.

"Jack..." The man in question looked up at him. Ianto rarely used his name, but when he did it meant that he had left professional mode and was trying to be there as a friend. No one knew about their tentative friendship, all they saw was the flirting. Which Jack wanted to be more, but he enjoyed having Ianto's friendship and support.

"It's the same one."

"The wolf, you mean?"

"Yes. I figured I'd never see her again when she disappeared. And now she appears, falling through the rift and beaten half to death. I don't know what's going to happen when she wakes up."

"Well, maybe she'll explain everything to you when she wakes up. But there's really no way to know until she does wake. So take a deep breath and go talk to the team. I'll bring another round of coffee in just a minute."

Jack gave a small smile and pulled himself together mentally. "Thank you, Ianto."

"Not a problem, sir." They parted ways, Jack heading to the rest of the team and Ianto to the kitchenette. He felt a familiar pang of guilt as he thought about the betrayal of his teammates' trust. As long as they didn't find out before Lisa was well again, there wouldn't be a problem.

There was a small commotion down in the autopsy bay when Ianto brought the tray of coffees over. Owen seemed enraged that Tosh had touched Daria enough to get a good view of the whole collar, but Tosh was valiantly defending herself.

"I found a scanner on this side!"

"So what? You could have ripped open her stitches!"

"I was gentle."

"What sort of scanner?" Gwen broke in, ending the argument before it could escalate.

"It resembles a fingerprint scanner." Tosh was clearly still upset about Owen yelling at her, but also determined to do her job and get the collar off of the poor creature.

"Jack, what were those numbers on the back of her head?" Gwen was trying to keep everyone distracted to avoid any further arguments.

"I don't know. She refused to tell me. I let it be. We both had our secrets. Maybe that's why we never worked out."

"Or because you're an outrageous flirt," Gwen teased. Jack chuckled at this, but his eyes quickly zeroed in on a small movement. Tosh had her thumb pressed against the scanner. A loud beeping started emitting from the collar.

And Daria's eyes flew open.


	3. Daria

Tosh jumped back as Daria's eyes flew open. The wolf tried to move but quickly gave up with a whimper and settled back onto the table. Her pupils were dilated in fear as she looked at each and every one of them. Her eyes stopped on Jack and she gave out a low whine, the tip of her tail wagging, a pathetic shadow of the normally happy motion.

"Well, she seems to remember you," Owen stated, moving around her body to make sure she wasn't bleeding after her attempt to stand. Once he was satisfied that she was as okay as she was going to be he went and checked her eyes, noting that the dilation had reduced and was glad to hear her breathing evenly.

"My finger scan woke her up... What does it take to get it off?" Tosh wondered aloud. Daria looked at her, clearly understanding the question. She kept looking from Tosh to a scalpel and back.

"I think she means blood." Owen picked up the scalpel and looked at the others. "Any volunteers?" Daria continued to stare at Tosh.

"I think I have to, since my print was what woke her up." Tosh gave her hand to Owen and looked away as he gently pricked her thumb. The implement was sharp enough that she barely felt it bite into her skin. There was hardly any pain until she had to press it to the scanner. A beep, a click, and then a slow hissing filled the room as the collar opened and fell off of her neck. Everyone stared for a moment. There was a strip of skin where the collar had worn away the fur and a small hole on her neck where a needle on the inside of the collar had been injecting the chemical into her blood. Owen was putting a small plaster over the hole when a sickening crack filled the room.

"What was that?" Gwen sounded distressed. Another crack sounded, this one longer, with a scraping sort of sound.

"She's shifting," Jack stated simply, staring at her in disbelief.

"That can't be good for her stitches," Owen muttered, but too concentrated on the amazing sight before him to really be upset. Disturbing pops, cracks, and occasional ripping sounds filled the hub for several minutes. Halfway through, a terrible howl filled the area, drowning out everything else, making everyone cover their ears. The howl was soon replaced by a human scream, which died to a quiet sobbing when the transformation was over.

A girl lay curled in the place where the wolf had previously been. Her tan was darker than Jack's, but her hair was a lighter brown. It was an interesting combination. Everyone stood dumbly staring at the naked sobbing girl in front of them until Ianto appeared with blankets and a pillow in hand. No one had even noticed he had slipped out.

"Where did you get those?" Jack managed to ask as Ianto worked on wrapping a blanket around her and nudging a pillow under her head. He also pulled a travel packet of tissues out of his trouser pocket and handed them to her. She took them with a shaky hand and started cleaning her face up a bit, only the occasional sob escaping from her. When she finally looked at them, there was a collective gasp from everyone but Jack. Her eyes as a wolf had been a golden green. Now her eyes were the brightest green any of them had seen. Jack had spent so much time looking into those eyes. Her eyes always stole people's breath away.

Ianto produced a small bottle of water and a straw from his other trouser pocket. He offered her a drink from the straw and she gratefully started to suck down the water. "Don't want you to get sick," he stated as he pulled the water away from her. She whined, the sound disturbingly canid coming from a human throat.

"Jack..." She croaked out. He wanted to run and comfort her. To hold her and make her better. He also wanted to curse and yell at her and ask her why she had left without a word. He chose what he considered the middle ground; he kept his distance and stared. Silence stretched as everyone stared at each other, not sure what to do. Owen finally snapped out of it and started lifting sections of the blanket at a time to check on the stitches. He was pleased to see that they had managed to not be ripped open in all of that.

"She needs something softer and warmer than this table to sleep on for a few nights. Do we have any beds in this place that are easily accessible?"

"No." Jack realized that his bunker did not count as easily accessible.

"As her acting physician, I'm taking her back to my flat and I'll be on call from there. She's stable, but she's still critically injured. I need to keep a 24 hour watch on her. Now if we could get her some clothes, we can get going."

"I think I might have something extra stashed around here." Gwen ran off in search of some clothes.

"Should fit," Ianto mumbled. "Sir, shall I use the Torchwood expenses account to buy some clothes for her?"

"Yeah. She's technically our ward now. She's not an alien threat, but she also isn't human, so we need to take care of her until she can care for herself."

"Of course, sir. I'll stop by your flat once I'm done shopping if that's acceptable." Ianto asked as he turned to Owen.

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled distractedly, packing up some medications and equipment for the next couple days.

Gwen came bounding in a few minutes later, clothes in hand. She shooed the boys out of the room as Tosh helped her get Daria dressed.

"Thank...you..."

"It's no bother sweetheart. Hope you get better soon," Gwen responded with her typical gap-toothed smile. Jack came down at the girls' okay and picked up Daria. She wanted to protest, but knew she would never be able to walk to the stairs, let alone go up them and to the car.

Jack went with Owen to help him get Daria settled in his flat. He placed her on the bed at Owen's directions. He and Daria said nothing to each other, not even goodbye as he left for the night.

"So... What do you eat?" She gave him a look that clearly said _are you seriously asking that?_ So he started rummaging through his fridge, trying to find any decent food. There was a knock on the door as he was ransacking the cupboards. He went to the door and was relieved to see Ianto with not only clothes but some grocery bags and a box of Chinese takeout. "How...?"

"I know everything," Ianto said simply as he pushed past Owen and set the clothes on the couch and took the food and put it on the counter. "I trust you can do the rest," he said in way of goodbye.

Ianto did seem to know everything. He had bought food that would be both nutritious and easy to make. Owen set about cooking, eating his own food when he had the chance.

There was silence through dinner and clean up, even though he had to help her with the utensils to her chagrin. Owen didn't have anything to say and Daria seemed capable of little speech at the time. It was getting late. Normally Owen would have been out chatting up some bird, but he had a duty and he was going to fulfill it.

Owen started getting Daria ready for bed early. She need rest as a human, her body wasn't used to this. She seemed agitated at not being able to get dressed in pajamas by herself.

"Look, I know this sucks, but starting tomorrow we can do some basic physical therapy, get your muscles working properly again. You'll have you independence back in no time."

"I hope so," she rasped out, staring at the floor.

"Lay down. Time for bed. I'll be out on the couch."

"Please stay."

"Why?"

"Pack animal. Hate alone." Even in the broken, raspy speech he could here the loneliness and desperation in her voice. He stripped down to his pants and climbed into bed. She scooted closer to him. Not quite touching, but they could feel eachother's body heat. Sleep came easily with the comfort of another person so close. They temporarily banished their loneliness.


	4. Dancing and Healing

The next week was hectic. The rift wasn't being more active than usual, but between that and helping Daria recover, the team felt swamped. Tosh, Gwen, and Jack had to take on more field work to cover for the fact that Owen stayed either at his flat or at the hub. They were all glad when Owen declared that Daria should start hanging around the hub, getting used to walking and talking in her human body. Jack took to staying in his office more. Ianto went to talk to him, taking a deep breath before knocking and entering.

"Coffee?" Jack asked hopefully. Ianto smiled and handed over the cup. Ianto waited for the Captain to take a few sips before asking him the question on everybody's mind.

"Why are you avoiding her?"

"Who?" Ianto raised an eyebrow, clearly indicating that Jack shouldn't play dumb. "Fine. She left me. And I want to know why. It was a long time ago, I thought I had buried all those questions. But seeing her again makes me want to ask. And I don't want to start any confrontation with her until she's feeling better."

"Well it looks like she should be fine within the next week. Apparently she heals rather quickly. Do you need anything else, sir?"

"No, I think I'll be fine for a bit." Ianto nodded and slipped out with hardly a sound. Jack sighed and stood up. He stretched before he walked over to the glass walls to stare out at the team below. He promptly started laughing at the sight of Gwen trying to teach Daria how to dance. It looked like some mangled form of swing dancing, but Gwen was trying to do the leading part, which she obviously didn't know. Jack started downstairs without even thinking about it. The sounds of the girls' laughter was contagious. At least they were getting a kick out of their horrible dancing.

"May I cut in?" He asked politely, holding his hand out to Daria. His smile was forced, and she of all people would know, but she had loved to dance. And he loved dancing with her. He needed something to lighten his mood. And maybe, just maybe, it would break the ice between them. Gwen smiled at them and went to sit on the couch with Owen, still giggling. Owen was smirking but kept a critical eye on his patient.

"Owen says dancing will help my coordination," she explained as she took his hand. He had missed that musical sound. Her accent was something so different from anything on this planet.

"Good thing I remember how to dance. Do you?"

"I'm sure I can manage," she replied cheekily. He grinned at her for real this time, and he started out slowly guided her through the motions. She quickly fell back into the pattern that she knew so well and they were flying around each other before they knew it. Their movements were fluid, honed to perfection, even after so long apart. As they slowed to an end, he realized that they hadn't asked how long she had been gone from Earth. It had been a good eighty years for him. Not that he would let the team know. Keeping secrets was his specialty after all.

Daria tried to step away from him but collapsed before she could get far. He caught her and swung her into his arms, carrying her to the couch and setting her down.

"Guess that was too much exertion, eh?" She said sheepishly.

"Well you weren't injured, so I'll call it good. Probably good that you got outta breath," Owen observed, taking her pulse and listening to her lungs. "Look at you. Barely breathing hard. Sore anywhere? Feel any broken bones re-asserting themselves?"

"I'm fine. I feel much better. Rest assured, my arm and ribs are healed. I told you I heal much faster than humans."

"Miraculously quickly if you ask me," he muttered before wandering off to the autopsy bay. Jack and Daria shared a look. Ianto caught it out of the corner of his eye and thought that maybe Daria's healing wasn't a natural thing, even for her species. He wasn't going to pry though. No need to draw too much attention to himself by being nosy.

"Rift spike!" Tosh called from her computer. Jack went over to look over her shoulder while everyone else awaited instructions.

"Owen! Let's give Tosh a break and have you out in the filed with us! You must be sick of being cooped up!"

Owen looked like he was going to protest but Daria cut in. "I'll be fine. Really. Go on, get some fresh air." He nodded and followed Gwen and Jack out of the base.

Nobody noticed Ianto slip down to the lower levels. He hadn't had time to check on Lisa before work this morning, and he was worried about her. He scurried down to the levels that no one but he ventured to. He was happy when she didn't stir when he came in. He must have finally given her a high enough dosage of painkillers. He held her hand for a moment, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he registered just how cold she was. She always said she didn't feel it, and that both worried and comforted him. He decided to head back upstairs, seeing that she wasn't going to regain conscious for a while. He would come back tonight, like he always did. Maybe he'd be able to stay with her tonight so she wouldn't be so alone. He decided to organize the archives a bit since he was in the vicinity.

He heard quite a commotion as he headed up the stairs. It seemed there was an argument over some object they had found. He hadn't realized how long he had been downstairs. He caught something about ghosts and Jack scolding Gwen and Owen for using the object in question. He busied himself with coffee, setting them down quietly by each person once they were done. No one paid him any mind. Not until he came to Daria.

"Has Owen raised the ban on caffeine for you yet?"

"Nope, not yet. Tomorrow probably. So he says." He gave her a small smile and sat beside her on the couch, watching Tosh join the discussion about the little metal thing. He was glad to see that they all seemed to have calmed and were sipping coffee as they listened to each other. Ianto sat back with Daria and they watched the show of the team discussing rather animatedly. The discussion ended with a rather pissed off Owen heading home on his own, seemingly forgetting about Daria, and an equally pissed Jack locking himself in his office. Tosh and Gwen looked exasperated and looked at each other. Daria cleared her throat and their heads snapped towards her, as if they had forgotten about the two on the couch.

"I guess I'm staying here tonight then," Daria started conversationally.

"Don't be silly. You can come home with me," Tosh said brightly. Daria smiled and followed her out the door.

"Day over then?" Ianto asked Gwen.

"It would seem so," she replied tiredly.

"Go home then. You have that boyfriend of yours waiting for you." Gwen beamed at him and headed out the door. Ianto headed up to Jack's office. He knocked and found the door locked.

"Jack?" The man in question came and opened the door for him. "What happened out there?"

"This machine we found. It shows people ghost memories when they press the button. And it's not just seeing, it's feeling. Owen and Gwen both used it and now they both want to find the people they saw. Owen seems to be aiming for vengeance. The scene he saw was a girl being raped and murdered. I told him to let it go, it's in the past. But..."

"But Owen is Owen and we just have to pray he doesn't do anything stupid?" Ianto suggested.

"That sums it up."

"He'll come to terms with it, in time. Daria went home with Tosh, since Owen seems to have forgotten about her."

"That's not good. She's gonna sulk about that tomorrow."

"She seemed fine."

"But Owen wasn't around. She'll put on a show so that he'll know that he hurt her feelings. I think she's bonded to him, like a pack member. I doubt that will end well, but I can't stop it either."

"Was she bonded to you when you were together?" Ianto took a chance, trying to get some little bit of information from Jack.

"Yes," was the definitive answer in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Do you need anything before I leave, sir?"

"A coffee refill would be great," he answered with a hopeful smile.

"Of course sir."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTW

The incident with what had been named the ghost machine turned into a disaster in Jack's mind. Owen admitted it was messy, but thought that Ed Morgan really had it coming. Gwen was, of course, traumatized, still staring at her hands after the blood was washed off. Everyone trudged back to the hub after the immediate mess was cleaned up.

"Ianto! Dispose of the body for us, would you? Well, after a coffee," Jack asked, making a small pleading gesture. Ianto rolled his eyes but replied with a "Yes, sir."

In the main hub, Daria was studiously ignoring Owen. He had been ignoring her in his obsession with making Ed Morgan pay. Not spending time with her was one thing, but he hadn't so much as spoken to her. She busied herself listening to Tosh explain exactly what happened.

"Apparently Gwen hadn't learned after accidentally letting that sex crazed alien out last month," she finished. Daria's eyes near nearly popped out of her head.

"Sex crazed?"

"Well, it fed on orgasmic energy, killing the man in the process."

"What an interesting creature." Daria was quiet for a moment, marveling at all the things that she had never seen in her travels across space. And her accidental travel across time. Then again, she had never met Jack's Doctor either. She sighed and looked over to see Owen walking over to her.

"I'm going home. You coming?" He seemed tired. Daria though about rejecting the offer, but she wanted to be there for him. She could feel his emotions at the edge of her consciousness. Part of her wanted to finish the bond and be able to share feelings mentally, but a bigger part of her thought that neither was ready for that. She wouldn't let her longing for a pack cloud her judgment. She had bonded Jack and that had been disastrous in the end, for her at least. Humans didn't feel the bond break, but she remembered the mental agony.

"Yeah." She stood and followed him out of the door. Jack watched them leave and decided that he would talk to her tomorrow. He hoped to finally get some answers.

TWTWTWTWTW

"Tomorrow," Ianto told Lisa down in the basement, "Dr. Tanazaki will be here tomorrow, and he will make you better. Then we can be together again, no more hiding."

"And nobody suspects anything?"

"Not that I've noticed."

"Good. I'm so happy Ianto." She gave him a small, pained smile. They would both be glad when she was free of the pain.


End file.
